It’s been a while since I’ve taken some time out to have a play with colours; often it involves me putting a whole bundle of yarn on our bed and organising them into colours that I think work well. It’s such a fun thing to do, even if there’s no purpose, it’s just fun. Disclaimer: I have to work hard not to just throw myself into all the gorgeous colours, stop whatever else it is I need to do and make something immediately with all the colours. I digress!

When LoveKnitting sent me a bundle of newly-launched Paintbox Yarns I knew it was the perfect opportunity to have a play. Paintbox Yarns launched with 60 shades in four lines, DK, aran, chunky and cotton. In this post I’ve focused on the DK collection, but note there are a couple of exceptions.

So, without further ado, here are some ideas for how you could combine Paintbox Yarn shades.

1. Dark Aubergine, Pansy Purple, Dusty Lilac, Pale Lilac and Paper White. I’ve changed my mind about purple; while it used to be a colour I wasn’t hugely inspired by, since making these purple flowers I’ve had a change of heart. The contrast of the darker shade versus light brings a cosy warmth to it that works really well. I could see these five shades being made into a gorgeous stripy cardigan, or jumper, for a little girl.

2. Soft Fudge, Melon Sorbet (chunky), Mustard Yellow, Pistachio Green and Paper White. These collective colours spring to mind a meadow for me; you’ve got the harvest light brown, with the Pistachio Green and, to bring it all together, the sunshine warmth from the Melon Sorbet (chunky) and Mustard Yellow shades. I think this could make for a super cosy blanket for that autumn cuddles on the sofa or spring picnic.

3. Coffee Bean, Midnight Blue, Red Wine, Sky Blue and Pure Black. I’m going to call this primary colour madness – and I say that with a smile on my face. The Midnight Blue and Red Wine shades really caught my eye, so I’ve teamed them up with the Coffee Bean and Pure Black to bring it to life. I’ve then added the Sky Blue to soften the colour combinations. I could see these colours being used in a make for a little boy.

4. Slate Grey, Seafoam Blue, Mustard Yellow, Bright Peach (aran) and Banana Cream. Moving on from primary colours, I feel like this is an alternative version with a softer palette. The Slate Grey and Seafoam Blue looks great together and teaming it up with the Mustard Yellow looks great to me. Looking at this again, since photographing it, I think this has more work to be done to get the right combo but there’s definitely something great to work from. What do you think?

5. Stormy Grey, Blush Pink, Pistachio Green, Peach Orange and Banana Cream (chunky). I feel like this is the most feminine of colour collections in this post, what do you think? I built it from the Peach Orange and Banana Cream shades and then muted it with the Stormy Grey, Blush Pink and Pistachio Green to create a soft, spring time feel. I would love to make this into a blanket or similar; the Blush Pink and Pistachio Green especially warm my heart.

What do you think? Any standout colour schemes that catch your eye?

This is just the tip of the iceberg, so definitely go and check out Paintbox Yarns; I feel like there were hundreds more colour combinations I could’ve chosen so I may well be back soon with more ideas!